and
put into the basket. This man told me that all he expected to get,
would scarcely suffice for the supper of the four individuals
comprising his family. As the tide came in, the lights were seen
receding towards the shore, and gradually becoming extinct. The
material of which the torches are made, is the wood of a fine large
arborescent species of Bignonia, to which the Brazilians give the name of Pao d'Arco, from
the circumstance of its being used by the Indians to make their bows.
They split this wood into thin splinters, a number of which are tied
together, and when lighted, it burns with a very clear flame. Before
castor oil was so much cultivated as it now is, this kind of light was
extensively used by the country people, even in their sugar-houses and
other works.
